Are you just as LOST as we are?details | page seven
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

www.collegiatetimes.com

COLLEGIATETIMES
107th year, issue 17

News, page 2

Student
media to
not lose
funding

Features, page 7

Opinions, page 5

Sports, page 3

Classifieds, page 6

Sudoku, page 6

An unexpected break

STUDENT COMMISSION UNHAPPY
WITH ONLINE COMMENTS, URGES
WITHHOLDING MEDIA FUNDS, ADS
CALEB FLEMING
news staff writer
Virginia Tech will not revoke funding to the
Collegiate Times and other student media endeavors,
contrary to the proposal a Tech advisory group laid
out last Friday.
“The university is not going to exercise administrative leverage to pressure the Collegiate Times,” said
university spokesman Larry Hincker. “The chief legal
counsel made clear that the actions (the Commission
on Student Affairs) were asking for is not permissible
under the law.”
The Commission on Student Affairs had recommended the university ban student organizations
from buying ads with university funds as well. The
proposed financial cutbacks resulted from a controversy over anonymous reader comments posted to
the Collegiate Times Web site.
The CSA sent a letter early last week to Kelly Wolff,
general manager of the Educational Media Company
at Virginia Tech. The letter stated the Collegiate Times
may be in violation of the university’s “Principles of
Community” for its online commenting process, and
declared that if the organization did not agree to negotiate the status of the commenting, the commission
would recommend action be taken by the university.

[

on the web

]

Check out the Collegiate Times Web site at
www.collegiatetimes.com to see the original
resolution and EMCVT’s response.

“In the Principles of Community, there is language
talking about holding people with dignity and respect
and having a civil tone,” said Ed Spencer, vice president for student affairs. “The commission members
have been saying that if we’re going to publish comments, they ought to be consistent with letters to the
editor so people in a civil community can be held
responsible.”
Spencer said the CSA and Collegiate Times began
to discuss the current comment system, among other
things, last semester. Spencer noted interest was generated again after a more recent article in the CT.
“The interest got sparked again when some of
the online comments came back in response to the
article about the diversity summit,” Spencer said.
“Commission members realized it was still going on
and that’s why they asked to sit down and talk with the
staff again about it.”
Wolff claimed EMCVT would pursue legal action if
the university followed through on the recommendations and rejected the offer to negotiate resolution.
“Our role was to ensure that students’ editorial rights
were defended,” Wolff said.
She added that the effect of a funding cut would
likely not extend as much to the Collegiate Times as
it would to other student media organizations, such as
WUVT, VTTV, and the Silhouette literary magazine.
“Really, it would not have much impact on the
Collegiate Times operations,” Wolff said. “It earns
enough revenue to support itself.”
Spencer said he was present at the first meeting in
which more serious legislation was considered, noting
his most prominent role was to explain the nature of
the relationship between EMCVT and Tech, as well
as its history.
Spencer said the Collegiate Times currently receives
free office space in Squires Student Center and $70,000
annually from Tech, among other things. The contract
does not have an explicit end date. Wolff said it “continues in full force and effect until one part gives 24
months notice of the intent to non-renew/negotiate.”
“It’s not the sort of thing you want to subject to the
whims of this administrator or that administrator,”
Wolff said. “It needs to be very stable.”
Once the history of the relationship dating back to
1997 had been discussed, Spencer said “someone”
on the commission made a notion to request further
conversation with the Collegiate Times, and if that did
not happen, to request that action be taken.
Michelle McLeese, CSA chairwoman, presented the
proposal that would recommend the university give
notice that it does not plan to extend contract with
EMCVT until an acceptable resolution was reached.
The contract requires 24-month notice be given by
either side before ending or renegotiating the contract.
The CSA consists of 42 members, including students,
faculty, and staff.
see CSA / page two

DANIEL LIN/SPPS

The roof of Blacksburg High School’s gymnasium lies in ruins after collapsing on the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 13. Students will not have classes this week.

High school gym future uncertain in aftermath of roof collapse
ZACH CRIZER
nrv news editor
Blacksburg High School students will have the entire week off
from school as officials continue to
investigate what caused the school’s
gym roof to collapse Saturday.
There has been no announcement about where the students will
attend school when they return to
classes.
All other Montgomery County
Public Schools are operating on a
one-hour delay Tuesday after being
inspected following the collapse.
A flat roof design may have contributed to the collapse of the gym
at Blacksburg High School.
The roof above the gym of the
high school on Patrick Henry
Drive collapsed Saturday afternoon. There were no injuries
caused by the incident.
Thomas Mills, a Virginia Tech
associate professor of building construction, said the design of the
gym’s roof made it more susceptible to snow and ice.
Mills said current building codes
require an ability to hold a snow
load of 30 pounds per square
foot. Buildings adhering to that
code would be able to hold about
four and a half feet of snow, but
Blacksburg has only received about
28 inches of snow since Jan. 28.
About 50 inches of snow have
accumulated during the current

MICHAEL MCDERMOTT/SPPS

Large parts of the high school lay in rubble after the collapse of the roof. No injuries occurred.
winter season.
While Mills said nobody could
be completely sure of the cause of
the collapse without completing
forensics, a flat roof design can create difficult conditions for specific
areas of the building structure.
“With flat roofs, you have a tendency for drifting to occur,” Mills
said. “The snow gets taller and

higher right in those little areas, so
you have a tendency to increase the
loads in smaller areas. Typically,
code loads are for a uniform surface area.”
He said this could increase the
loads on the edges of the roof,
stressing the walls of the gym, as
well as the roof.
The flat structure could have also

inhibited drainage of melting snow,
as water must flow off through
roof drains and not simply down a
sloped surface.
“When it melts, the only place
it would have to drain is through
roof drains. Frequently, roof drains
have a tendency to freeze. Ice gets
in the drain, in the drain line, and
water can’t run out.”

This effect could also have
increased the load on the outside
portions of the roof.
He called the collapse a “gravity load failure,” and said the sudden nature of the incident was not
unusual.
The gym was the scene of a basketball game Friday night. The first
signs of trouble appeared earlier
Saturday morning, during a girls’
basketball practice in the facility.
A crack developed on at least one
wall, and debris began to fall from
the ceiling.
A Blacksburg Police press release
said the building was cleared and
an inspector was called in. School
officials and the inspector were
on school grounds, but not inside,
when the roof collapsed.
Neighborhood residents heard
the collapse between 1:30 p.m. and
1:40 p.m.
“We heard a loud sound, and
my husband said, ‘I think the
roof is collapsing,’ and we all ran
to the window,” said Elizabeth
Blankemeyer, whose house is on a
hill overlooking the collapsed area
of the building. “You couldn’t even
see the high school. It was a brown
cloud.”
Debris from the collapse is now
spread across the area.
The building opened in 1974.
Power to the building was shut
off Saturday, but has been restored
to the main area of the school.

Gun bill faces opposition ahead of vote
ZACH CRIZER
nrv news editor
Blacksburg restaurant owners are lobbying
against a bill that would allow permit holders
to carry concealed weapons in establishments that serve alcohol.
Jason Brauns, who owns Top of the Stairs
on College Avenue, is a concealed carry
permit holder, but does not want concealed
weapons in his establishment.
“In a nutshell, I have a concealed weapons
permit,” Brauns said. “I believe in gun rights
and being able to carry guns, but I don’t
believe that in bars or anywhere alcohol is
involved is the place for them.”
The Virginia House of Delegates has passed
the bill and the senate is expected to vote on
it Tuesday. The bill would change Virginia’s
laws on concealed weapons. Currently,
weapons are not allowed in restaurants that
serve alcohol. The bill would allow concealed

carry permit holders to carry guns in restaurants, as long as the holders do not consume
alcohol.
Robert Hodges, who owns Bud Foster’s
Restaurant, said the legislation would put
restaurant owners in an uncomfortable situation.
“I think this is the worst thing the legislation in Richmond could ever do to restaurants and bars,” Hodges said.
Brauns said the stipulation that requires the
person concealing the weapon to not drink
would be difficult to deal with.
“I guess that would make it a lot more challenging to enforce that,” Brauns said. “I think
it needs to be a blanket law on that. You can
either carry it in there or you can’t.”
If the bill were to be enacted into law,
Brauns said he would put up a sign prohibiting guns in Top of the Stairs.
Hodges said adding the sign could create
an image problem with patrons visiting from

other areas.
“You can put up a sign on your door that
says ‘No guns allowed,’ but I’ll be honest with
you, how likely is someone from out of town
to enter a restaurant or bar where they have a
big sign posted that says ‘No guns allowed?’”
Hodges is afraid difficult enforcement conditions could lead to safety hazards.
“As an owner and operator of a restaurant that does serve alcohol, yeah I have
some concerns and some safety issues with
the legislation,” Hodges said. “The fact that
someone can walk in here with a concealed
weapon just because they have a permit, get
intoxicated, and if there is an altercation pull
a gun and discharge it in my establishment
concerns me greatly.”
John Welch, a Virginia Tech senior and
spokesman for Students for Non-Violence,
said local state government officials are not
accurately representing the citizens of the
Blacksburg area.

Delegates Dave Nutter and Jim Shuler, who
each represent a portion of Montgomery
County, voted for the measure. Sen. John
Edwards, who represents a portion of
Montgomery County, has yet to vote. None
of the officials immediately returned phone
calls from the Collegiate Times.
“They’re sort of out of touch with a lot of
people that they’re saying we’re out of touch
with,” Welch said.
Welch said the bill will likely pass in the
senate, but he has been leading the opposition effort.
“I think there’s a good chance,” Welch said.
“It was so close when it was in committee,
so now all the pressure is really going on
Delegate Nutter and Sen. Edwards, and we’ve
been pounding his e-mail inbox for the last
48 hours.”
universtity news editor philipp kotlaba
contributed to this report

LOS ANGELES — At least 34
people have died in accidents
involving Toyota Motor Corp.
vehicles that allegedly accelerated out of control in the past
decade, federal safety regulators
said Monday, reflecting a sharp
jump in the number of motorist complaints being filed in the
three weeks since the automaker
announced its latest recalls.
The new count from the
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration includes 13
fatalities reported since Jan. 27,
the day after Toyota ordered
a sales and production halt of
eight models in the U.S. to fix gas
pedals that it said can stick and
cause unintended acceleration.
An analysis of the data by the
Los Angeles Times shows that
all but one of the deaths reported to NHTSA by motorists in
2010 actually occurred in prior
years — as far back as 1992 —
suggesting that recent public
attention to the issue spurred
people to file complaints regarding past incidents. Most of the
incidents occurred between
2003 and 2009.
According to accounts filed
with the NHTSA, Toyota and
Lexus vehicles suddenly raced
forward, smashing into other
cars, buildings and pedestrians.
In addition to the fatalities, federal regulators said 22 people
reported injuries from unintended acceleration accidents
involving Toyota vehicles, which
ranged from cuts and bruises to
a woman left into a coma.
The Times first drew attention
to the unusually high number
of deaths attributed to sudden
acceleration events in Toyota
vehicles Nov. 8, when it reported
that the 19 fatalities linked to the
problem since 2001 was greater
than the total for all other automakers combined.

How well has the area around your
home and car been plowed?

from page one

- The snow is untouched – 16%
- It has been plowed, but the pile of
snow is behind my vehicle – 42%
- It has been plowed, but I am still
stuck on ice – 32%
- The lot and the roads are completely clear – 10%

Go to collegiatetimes.
com and answer this
week’s poll question:
How do you feel about allowing
concealed carry guns in restaurants?
- I feel less safe. Guns and restaurants shouldn’t mix.
- I do not care either way.
- I feel safer with concealed carriers
in restaurants.
- It’s good news. I look forward to
carrying a concealed weapon there
myself.

Upcoming headlines
- Check out our story tomorrow
about daycare options for Virginia
Tech faculty and students
- Take a look at Thursday’s paper
for a sneak peak into the next baseball season and its major players

CORRECTIONS
JUSTIN
GRAVES
-Contact our public
editor at publiceditor@
collegiatetimes.com if
you see anything that
needs to be corrected.

McLeese did not answer calls
seeking comment from the
Collegiate Times.
And what Wolff labels as a situation that is potentially of, “grave
concern to first amendment advocates,” Spencer called a “strong
message,” declining to speculate
on what the CSA expected to happen, had the commission’s recommendations been forwarded on to
the university administration and
ultimately passed.
“It seemed like the long history
that Virginia Tech had of taking
the hands-off approach had come
to an end,” Wolff said. “The fact
that there are a lot of administrators that sit on the CSA and none
of them were knowledgeable
about the laws applying to student
media, or weren’t willing to share,
is a message of concern.”
As for the future between the
two parties, Spencer said he was
unsure of the direction it would
head.
“It’s on the agenda for discussion
this Thursday, but I don’t know,”
Spencer said. “I’m not sure what
their pleasure will be at this point.
I think if one rereads the letter, the
commission really wanted to sit
down and talk about it, and that
remains the case.”
Though legally a resolution
has been reached, Hincker said
cooperation from both sides
would be required to pacify both
parties.
“I believe the guys at the CT
still have some work to do with
our readership,” Hincker said.
“The CSA still has some work
to do to understand or communicate what their concerns
are.
There still is an underlying
issue that fellow students are
concerned with. My hope would
be that the dialogue would
continue.”

]

Toyota faces more
reports of deaths

Our old poll question
asked you:

And you said:

[

nation & world
headlines

Members of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets color guard lower the American ﬂag in a formal retreat ceremony
on Upper Quad on Friday, Feb. 12. The ceremony also included ﬁring Skipper and music by the Highty-Tighties.
photo by daniel lin

Big week for Tech basketball Softball team wins three of ﬁrst four
games at Jacksonville tournament
NICK CAFFERKY
sports staff writer
The Virginia Tech softball team
kicked off its season this past weekend by winning three of four games
in a tournament in Jacksonville,
Fla.
The tournament started with the
weather causing problems, as it has
up and down the East Coast recently. The Hokies were supposed to
open their season on Friday against
Drexler and then UNC Greensboro,
but all of Friday’s action was cancelled because of rain the night
before.
Instead, Tech’s season began with
two games on Saturday against
Bethune-Cookman and the host,
Jacksonville.
The Hokies started off the tournament with a bang and had no trouble with Bethune-Cookman, taking
them down 14-3 in six innings.
Both the 14 runs and 15 hits the
Hokies tallied set program records
for an opening day game.
The game was headlined by the
performances of two players, junior
Richelle McGarva and freshman
Jasmin Harrell.
McGarva, who spent most of
last season injured, came back
strong, going 2-5 with two doubles
and four RBIs to lead the Hokies’
offensive onslaught.
“It felt really good. I was kind of
nervous, but it felt fine,” McGarva
said. “I know there is room for
improvement, but I didn’t expect
too much from myself.”
On the other side of the ball,
Harrell was brought in to pitch
during the third inning and pitched
four perfect innings to get the win

in her first-ever
collegiate game.
Harrell’s success and playing
time continued
to be substantial throughout
the weekend. S
McGARVA
he
pitched
a team high
of 11.2 innings and gave up six
runs.
“I was surprised by how much
I pitched, but I knew (assistant
coach Barb Sherwood) told me
I was going to be able to pitch in
the tournament. I just didn’t know
when,” Harrell said.
In the second game of the day,
the Hokies couldn’t duplicate the
success they had earlier and fell
11-7 to Jacksonville. Junior pitcher
Kenzie Roark got her first start
of the season, but she struggled
throughout. In six innings, Roark
gave up eight runs, including a
seven-run second.
Out of the 11 runs, only five were
earned, as the Hokies committed
five errors.
Because of the lack of time to
practice on dirt because of the snow,
problems in the field were a concern to head coach Scot Thomas
going into the weekend.
“For not having been out on the
dirt at all until we got out here, I
mean, you know you’re going to
make mistakes,” Thomas said. “I
feel like we did a pretty good job,
but there are some things we need
to shore up, that’s for sure.”
Sunday brought an early start
for the Hokies because their day
consisted of two games, the first of
which started at 9 a.m.

up next

[ ]
Tech will play this weekend
in the Red and Black showcase, hosted by University
of Georgia. The Hokies play
Western Carolina Friday,
and then No. 8 Georgia.

While the first day featured great
hitting, the Hokies used Sunday’s
games to show how successful
they can be at pitching.
Against Drexler, Tech only put up
five runs, four of which came in the
fifth inning, but Harrell was solid.
She pitched five shutout innings,
6.2 overall and was only pulled
after giving up three total runs late
in the sixth and seventh innings.
Roark came in to get the final out
in just three pitches to earn her first
save of the year.
To end the weekend, the Hokies
and UNC Greensboro got together
to play in the final game of the
weekend, with the Hokies winning
8-2 in 10 innings.
Sophomore Kristin Graham got
the start in her first outing of the
year.
She pitched 5.1 scoreless innings
and gave up just four hits. Roark
came in to relieve her and also was
effective, pitching 4.2 innings and
giving up just two runs to get the
win after a six-run 10th inning by
the Hokies.
Even though the Hokies are content with how they performed in
the tournament, Thomas observed
some inconsistency at the plate, citing the inexperience of the team as
a possible cause.

GAMES AGAINST WAKE FOREST AND DUKE THIS
WEEK VITAL TO HOKIES’ TOURNAMENT CHANCES

D

espite sporting 20 wins and a stellar 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference
record, the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team is by no means a lock for the
NCAA Tournament.
In games against the Wake Forest
Demon Deacons and the Duke Blue
Devils this week, the Hokies possess
a chance to silence those who doubt
whether Tech can really maintain its
position toward the top of the ACC
standings.
On the surface, Tech’s impressive
record implies that it has experienced
a dominating season. However, a poor
strength of schedule, ranked at No. 161
in the country, and a Ratings Percentage
Index rating of only 50 hold the Hokies’
tournament chances hostage.
The Hokies have played 11 teams
ranked 182 or higher in the RPI, including three teams over 300. Sure, last year
Penn State won the National Invitational
Tournament, and that appeared to be
a quality win early in the season, but
the Nittany Lions now sit at No. 225 in
the RPI with an 8-16 record and zero
conference wins.
Tech also got stuck with Iowa in
the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and the
Hawkeyes currently rank 182 in the
RPI, further weighing down the Hokies’
chances to move up in the rankings.
Even Tech’s ACC schedule seems to
be hurting the Hokies, putting them up

against the six top-50 RPI teams in the
ACC only once: Duke, Wake Forest,
Georgia Tech, Clemson, Maryland and
Florida State. The Hokies are stuck with
home and away match ups against RPI
anchors North Carolina State, Boston
College, Virginia, North Carolina and
Miami, all of which come in at 80 or
higher.
With all that said, Tech must be at its
best for the next six games, starting with
tonight’s game at 7 p.m. against Wake
Forest, a team that ranks No. 11 in the
RPI. A win at home over the Deacons
would be a huge boost to Tech’s RPI
and would provide a second top-50 RPI
win for the Hokies. Tech would also be
placed second in the ACC standings.
On Sunday, Tech travels to Durham
to face the Blue Devils, which provides
another opportunity for the Hokies to
solidify its tournament resume. Duke
ranks second in the RPI, and should the
Hokies pull off an upset at Cameron
Indoor Stadium, Tech should be well on
its way to a tournament bid, as well as a
first-place standing in the ACC.
At this point in the season, the Hokies
are not facing a must-win game, but a
win over either team this week would
be an incredible boost and would not
put as much pressure on Tech to win
at home against Maryland and away
at Georgia Tech. Two losses, though,
and the Hokies will be in a bind for the

remaining two weeks of the regular season, both at home and on the road.
Beginning Tuesday, Tech fans and the
NCAA selection committee can begin
to get a real grasp of the true quality of
this team.
Despite playing poorly for entire
halves and producing some pretty miserable shooting performances, Tech has
still managed to win some important
games. However, that sort of play will
not suffice in the coming weeks.
Overall, Tech truly sits in a unique
position this year. If the Hokies show up
offensively for both halves and continue
to play excellent defense the remainder
of the season, Tech will more than
likely earn an NCAA tournament berth
and legitimately compete for the ACC
regular season title.
Then again, if the Hokies begin to
unravel this week, Tech may very well
end up with yet another NCAA bubble
bursting and another berth into the NIT
Tournament.
With the parity and unpredictable
nature of the ACC basketball season,
nobody can realistically predict what
will happen, but starting Tuesday night
in Cassell Coliseum, it will sure be fun
to watch.

Hokies play for second place tonight in Cassell Coliseum
GARRETT RIPA
sports reporter
The Virginia Tech men’s basketball
team will look to further shock the
Atlantic Coast Conference with a
win tonight against the Wake Forest
Demon Deacons at 7 p.m. in Cassell
Coliseum.
Both the Deacons and Hokies enter
Tuesday’s game on four-game winning
streaks, sitting second and third, respectively, behind the first-place Duke Blue
Devils in the ACC standings.
Wake (18-5, 8-3) has climbed
to second, thanks to big wins at the
University of Virginia on Feb. 6 and at
Georgia Tech on Saturday. The Hokies
(20-4, 7-3) sit in third, with one more
win than fourth-place Maryland.
But the season and the two teams’
destinies are far from determined.
“We still have to keep playing,” Tech
junior guard Malcolm Delaney said.
“We’ve got some games left and we
have a chance to win the ACC if we
keep playing the way we’ve been playing.”
Fresh off an impressive 75-64 win
over Georgia Tech, the Deacons come
to Blacksburg tonight. Monday, they
became ranked for the first time this
season (No. 23 in the Associated Press
Poll, No. 25 in ESPN/USA Today
Coaches’ Poll).
Meanwhile, the pollsters continue to
remain untrustworthy of the Hokies
for such honors.
Tech, fresh off a season-sweep of the
Virginia Cavaliers, will have to rely on
guard Dorenzo Hudson and forward
Jeff Allen to maintain its high level of
play against the Deacons.
If Allen can play smart defense, he
can be effective. If he can stay out of
foul trouble, he can be a force.
Against Virginia, the junior forward
picked up two quick fouls and sat for
nearly 18 minutes of the first half.
When he returned in the second half,
he played with more aggressiveness
than he has all season and played the
main role in the Hokies’ comeback
“(Jeff is) playing with confidence,”
Hokies’ head coach Seth Greenberg
said. “He was hot in the last couple
minutes of the game. We kept getting
him the ball and he kept delivering
for us.”
Greenberg noted Tech’s ability to take
advantage of the “hot” man, a common
theme in some of the Hokies’ bigger
wins against Seton Hall, a game in
which Hudson scored 41 points, and at
home against Clemson, when Delaney
scored 30, en-route to a 70-59 win.

BRIAN CLAY/SPPS

Tech guard Malcolm Delaney drives down the court against Virginia.
“That’s how our team is: Whoever is
the hot man, we keep going to him,”
he said.
Hudson will be counted on for a big
game scoring against the Deacons.
Ever since his explosive 41-point performance against Seton Hall, Hudson
has become a regular name in Hokie
Nation and someone the team can
seem to rely on in clutch situations.
Alongside junior guard Malcolm
Delaney, who leads the conference in
scoring but has recently been struggling to find a rhythm, Hudson’s combined ability to shoot long-range and
finish drives to the basket makes him
just the scoring threat that the Hokies
need.
Delaney says that while he has been
struggling, he doesn’t care how Tech
gets the wins — just as long as it gets
them.
“I don’t care. As long as we win,”
Delaney said. “We don’t care how we
win. We don’t have seven McDonald’s
All-Americans. That’s what we’ve been
(ugly) since we’ve been in the ACC.
Teams don’t like playing us. We’re real
scrappy. We get lost balls, dive on the
floor. That’s what makes us.”
Luckily for Tech fans (and Delaney’s
scoring average), he’s had consistent
success getting to the foul stripe and
converting on his free throws. Delaney
averages just over eight free-throw
attempts per game and shoots a stellar
84.9 percent from the line.
As a whole, the Hokies have out-shot

their opponents at the line in the past
six games, including crucial shots made
against North Carolina, Clemson and
Virginia in the final minutes of those
victories.
If Tech comes away with a victory
tonight, expect an advantage at the
line.
On the defensive side, the Hokies
simply need to do what they have been
doing.
The Hokies are ranked second in
the ACC in scoring defense and won’t
hold anything back in aggressiveness
tonight. Containing Wake forward
Al-Farouq Aminu, who averages 16.9
points and 10.9 rebounds per game
and stands at six feet nine inches tall,
will undoubtedly be priority No. 1.
Deacons’ guard Ishmael Smith will
also be a threat, averaging 13 points,
4.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game
himself.
But as long as the Hokies can stick to
the junkyard dog-like mentality they
have possessed in recent games, they
might just be all right.
“The league’s good,” Greenberg said.
“It’s just, next game. We can’t worry
about all the other static. We’ve just got
to get the next game.”
If you weren’t lucky enough to land a
ticket, ESPN2 will be nationally televising the game.
A win tonight gives the Hokies an
opportunity to battle Duke for the
league’s top position when they head to
Durham on Sunday.

The Collegiate Times is an
independent student-run
newspaper serving the Virginia Tech
community since 1903

Your Views
[letters to the editor]

Free publicity is
Every game is
important in ACC good publicity

B

lackout was a huge success.
Once again, I would like
to thank Hokies on Fire for all
of their hard work during the
course of the season to help create a winning atmosphere and
energy in the Cassell.
I can say without reservation
that Cassell Coliseum is becoming one of the best and most
difficult venues in the Atlantic
Coast Conference. It’s because of
the tremendous ownership, passion and energy that our student
body has created throughout the
season.
One thing about the ACC is
that you don’t have a long time
to celebrate. Your next game
becomes the most important
game.
You can’t live in the past; you’ve
got to stay in the present as you
try to build your resume and
earn your way into the NCAA
Tournament.
That’s why tonight’s game
against Wake Forest is so important.
Protecting your home court,
building on your past success
and separating yourself is what
tonight is all about.
With the 7 p.m. tip-off, I’m asking you to arrive early and help
prepare our players for a frantic
40 minutes of basketball. There
is something special when you
walk out for warm-ups and you
see the student section filled.
Tonight’s game will be televised
by ESPN2. Let’s show the nation
what we already know: The
Hokie Nation is real, it’s passionate about Hokie basketball and
it’s ready to make a difference as
we march toward March.
Also, we will hold a “Chalk
Talk” in D2 at noon today.
Come out, get some great food
and learn about our preparations for tonight’s Wake Forest
game.
It’s a great day to be a Hokie!

Seth Greenberg
Men’s Basketball Coach

A

s a researcher focused on
advertising, the Super Bowl
and its requisite ads are a night
of business meeting pleasure. Not
only did I enjoy seeing the Saints
pull off a first attempt and win,
but I took interest in seeing what
the tone of the ads would be as a
whole for the evening.
The controversy over the Focus
on the Family spot paid dividends for the group in terms of
public relations exposure. (There
is no such thing as bad publicity, although Tiger Woods may
disagree with me.) However,
CBS may reconsider its changed
policy regarding advocacy ads if
they become too prevalent; the
evening is a celebratory one and
people look forward to the ads for
a change. Too serious, and viewers may opt to start taking the ad
breaks for trips to the fridge and
the bathroom again.
Mancrunch likely got exactly
what it hoped for in its attempt to
run an ad for its gay male dating
service. It pressed CBS every step
of the way to qualify the rejection
of its ad. First it was told there was
no available ad space left. Then
its ability to pay was questioned.
Finally it came forward with
a standards and practices rejection. But again, the free publicity
Mancrunch brought to its service
and a larger cause was worth far
more than what it would have
spent on the ad time.
There is one bone I want to pick
with Ben Woody’s column, “Super
Bowl ads at their finest, worst”
(CT, Feb. 11). Pepsi. Yes, it did
not opt to run Pepsi spots and it
did invest funds into the program
that was mentioned. But in the
same column, Frito-Lay was railed
against for the number of Doritos
ads that were run. Think about
that for a moment. Who is the parent company of Frito-Lay? I’ll give
you a hint: it’s not Coca Cola.

he phrases are disrespectful,
demeaning and, frankly, unimaginative.
But they’re annoyingly ubiquitous.
And that was even before The Wall
Street Journal provided Sarah Palin a
nugget with which to make political
hay.
“That’s just retarded” and “That’s so
gay” have become all-purpose putdowns, used in contexts that have
nothing to do with cognitively challenged or homosexual individuals.
But just because words and phrases
gain currency in the language doesn’t
make them valuable or essential to
discourse.
The problem is, how do you eradicate hurtful expressions from common
overuse?
The Journal wasn’t actually calling
out White House Chief of Staff Rahm
Emanuel on his language in a late
January story about liberal groups’
frustration with the Obama administration.
The story reported that Emanuel,
whose foul mouth has been wellchronicled, called it “f---ing retarded”
for the interest groups to run ads
attacking conservative Democrats
whose votes would be needed on
health-care legislation.
Palin pounced via Facebook, chastising Emanuel for a “slur on all God’s
children with cognitive and developmental disabilities — and the people
who love them.” She didn’t take specific issue with his f-bomb, though.
Curious, that.
Why did the former Alaska governor’s reaction look only partly sincere?
Because she then called it acceptable
satire for Rush Limbaugh to huff that
it’s no insult to call “a bunch of people
who are retards, retards.”
Not that he was defending Emanuel,
mind you; Limbaugh used the slur to
show his contempt for those liberal
groups whose politics he despises.
Seeing its own opportunity, Sen. Kay
Bailey Hutchison’s campaign followed
by telling CNN that Palin buddy Gov.
Rick Perry had his own r-word issues:
CNN had Hutchison campaign
manager saying that in a phone call
Perry consultant David Carney had
called it “just retarded” and “the most
retarded thing I’ve ever heard” for the
Republican gubernatorial candidates
to wait for their Jan. 14 debate in a
building separate from where they’d
be speaking.
In these contexts, the r-word seems
to mean moronic. But troll the online
Urban Dictionary, and the many definitions offered include just the opposite of stupid. Such is slang.

You can also find debates over
whether in an earlier r-word version
of the Black Eye Peas hit “Let’s Get it
Started” the word meant to get crazy
dancing or drunk or just slow things
down.
Words and their meanings evolve,
sometimes in good ways and sometimes in bad.
Words fall into and out of favor.
Sometimes the language changes
with the times for perfectly good reasons. (Nothing wrong with “firefighter” instead of “fireman” when the job’s
no longer gender-restricted.)
Sometimes revisions made in good
faith just sound silly or perverse.
(Domestic engineer, anyone?)
But whether bigotry, nastiness, vulgarity or meanness become more
entrenched or acceptable — and how
we prevent that — is more complicated.
It’s taken decades and protests and
public education and media awareness and shifting generations to purge
some of the ugliest of English words
from widespread American usage. Yet
some persist in private conversation
and public confrontations when small
minds resort to malicious insults.
At the same time, profanity has
coarsened our culture and our everyday lives.
The Federal Communications
Commission doesn’t much like the
f-word in any of its iterations. Nor do
I. But think of how many people drop
it — or the b-word that rhymes with
“witch” — for everything from a threat
to a challenge to an epithet, even to
an unthinking placeholder like “you
know.”
Offensive as that is, though, it’s not
equivalent to an affront toward an
entire group of people who have done
nothing more than be an easy target
for denigration.
How to eradicate offensive speech?
With more speech that asks people
to think about what they’re saying.
March 3 is the second “Spread the
Word to End the Word” awareness
day.
Maybe the organizers could get a
plug from President Barack Obama,
who on “The Tonight Show” a year ago
tactlessly compared his pathetic bowling skills to “like Special Olympics, or
something.”
It’s not political correctness to say that
some language is just too rude. That’s
common courtesy.

LINDA
CAMPBELL
-mcclatchy
newspapers

MCT CAMPUS

Slogans we wear send a
message about who we are
I

recently had the opportunity
to escape from a snow-covered
Blacksburg and do a quick trip to
Disney World. I have always found
Disney World to be a lot of fun, a
chance to escape but also a place to get
re-energized.
As I was exploring the parks and
enjoying the rides, I couldn’t help but
notice the different slogans and images
that people were wearing. People were
going about their ways, but in some
cases you saw folks approach each
other if they recognized a particular
slogan.
For example, I was at lunch when
someone stopped by the next table
and asked an individual what year he
had graduated from Wisconsin. This
particular person had observed a red
Wisconsin hat that the individual had
been wearing. It turns out that the hat
belonged to the individual’s daughter.
Would you be willing to approach a
complete stranger?
I suspect that some of you might be
saying, “Ray, don’t we wear these slogans all the time?” Well yes, we do wear
slogans all the time, but it is interesting
that in almost all cases we have become
“blind” to them, as this is similar to
what happens on campus when we
walk past the public bulletin boards.
Just as we take for granted the flyers, we
often gloss over the images.
As the university prepares for the fiveyear anniversary of the Principles of
Community, this message of symbols
is even more important. One of the
principles states, “We affirm the right
of each person to express thoughts and
opinions freely.” This expression does
not have to be verbal, it can be written,
and it can be in the form of slogans or
images that one wears or produces.
Many of us have heard the popular refrain, “Don’t judge a book by its
cover,” so we have to be careful about
how we individually react to what
someone is or is not wearing. Have
you ever caught yourself second guess-

ing or making an assumption? I believe
that we all have at some point.
What are the slogans and messages
that I am taking about? These range
from slogans that are logos for certain apparel brands, slogans of where
someone went to school, or slogans
that reflect a favorite team in whatever
sport. On this particular day, the football shirts and jerseys were out in force
with a lot of Colts and Saints fans.
The slogans can indicate a place of
work — an embroidered company
logo — or they can represent a place
that you visited, such as images of
Disney World. Slogans can show a
particular affiliation to an organization, such as a Greek-lettered organization. Slogans can depict images from a
favorite movie, or a recent concert or
event attendance, or a country of origin
or ancestry. They can even be part of a
political movement. Basically slogans
and images can reflect many things. It
is interesting that I was able to observe
all of these slogans during my stay in
Orlando.
Each of these slogans and images
sends a message about people’s identity and reveals something about their
likes and dislikes. It is interesting that
depending on the context of the message and where you wear something,
it can have varied implications. We
have heard the stories of how individuals that had shirts with Arabic
writing were refused boarding on a
plane and were forced to wear something else to cover the words. This was
largely because other passengers had
expressed concern about the Arabic
script.
We have also heard the challenges
that Abercrombie & Fitch has faced
with its line of apparel slogans and
the concerns that communities have
faced with the depiction of stereotypes.
Abercrombie & Fitch has faced major
issues with how it has depicted African
and Asian Americans.
Slogans and messages on apparel can

be used to help symbolize a team.
I remember when we first ordered
embroidered polos for the entire
Pritchard Resident Advisor staff. The
appearance of the entire staff in these
polos sent a powerful message of staff
unity and cohesion to the rest of campus. Years later, every RA on campus
would receive a polo shirt from the
department.
Another example at Virginia Tech
would be the students involved in the
corps of cadets and respective ROTC
programs. By virtue of wearing their
uniform, it sends a message about their
affiliation. Or take this past Saturday’s
game versus the University of Virginia,
as most of us wore black for the
Blackout game. This and similar efforts
for the Orange and Maroon Effect are
ways that the community can come
together to show support and pride.
There is a powerful message and bond
when thousands of people are wearing
the same color.
As we reflect about the wealth of
diversity on our community, we also
need to explore the messages that
we send and share about ourselves.
Sometimes we choose (whether consciously or unconsciously) the slogans
and images that we wear. We shouldn’t
shy from those things, as it is what
makes each of us unique.
As you sit in Squires Student Center
or walk across the Drillfield, take the
time to observe your surroundings.
What are your fellow community
members wearing? What messages are
they sending? How are they identifying themselves? How are you identifying yourself?

RAY
PLAZA
-regular columnist
-faculty adviser

t Prosim: That I May Serve. The
mantra of this university finds its
roots in a deep-seeded dedication to
community service on a local, national
and even global scale. As a student
here, I feel empowered and I am grateful to be a part of an institution that
prides itself on cultivating a passion
for helping others in need. In times
of tragedy beyond comprehension,
Virginia Tech reaches within, where
it finds an unprecedented camaraderie and kinship among peers, faculty
and alumni. In an “anything goes,”
“dog-eat-dog” society, it is that sense of
community and loyalty that separates
our university from those that foster
the worldly values of bitter rivalry and
relentless competition.
At the heart of every Hokie is a
desire to leave the world a better
place than when he or she entered it.
Whether expressed in small random
acts of kindness or on a far larger scale,
Hokies have forged a reputation of
acceptance and empathy rather than
the more common ideals of the world.
From the Big Event, to the Clothesline
Project, to Hokies for Haiti, Tech looks
to help others find their way back from
hardship no matter how much time,
money and energy we have to expend

in the process.
As we venture into the professional
arenas of engineering, business, law,
medicine, architecture, etc., I hope we
can maintain our unique ability to find
joy in helping others survive, thrive
and succeed, while also pursuing our
own dreams.
Graduates from this university find
their time divided between demanding classes and equally important community service projects that run the
gamut from volunteering at the animal
shelter to joining the Peace Corps. My
hope for every Hokie is this: 10, 20,
and even 30 years from now, when
you find yourself consumed by the
stresses of everyday, think of those
whose worries are insurmountable
and continue volunteering to make
their lives better.
As humans, we are innately selfish
and are consumed by the daily toils
of our lives. Yet, when put in perspective, our problems rarely contend with
those of the person in another country
or even next door. Here at Tech, tradition suggests that we make community service a large part of our lives;
unfortunately, when we add to the mix
a family, a career and all the responsibility that accompanies such ingredi-

Collegiate Times Business Staff
Business Manager: David Harries
College Media Solutions
Asst Ad Director: Kendall Kapetanakis
Account Executives: Nik Bando,
Brandon Collins, David Goerge,
Wade Stephenson, Kelly Burleson
Inside Sales Manager: Judi Glass
Assistant Inside Sales Manager: Diane
Revalski
Assistant Account Executives:
Maddie Abram, Katie Berkel, Kaelynn
Kurtz Rachel Lombardo, Erin Shuba
Creative Director: Sarah Ford
Asst Production Manager: Chloe Skibba
Creative Services Staff: Kara Noble,
Jennifer Le, Laiken Jacobs
Student Publications Photo Staff
Director of Photography: Luke Mason
Lab Manager: Mark Umansky
Voice your opinion. Readers
are encouraged to send
letters to the Collegiate Times.
365 Squires Student Center
Blacksburg, VA, 24061
Fax: (540) 231-9151
opinionseditor@collegiatetimes.com
All letters to the editor must include
a name and daytime phone number.
Students must include year and major.
Faculty and staff must include position
and department. All other submissions
must include city of residence, and if
applicable, relationship to Virginia Tech
(i.e., alumni, parent, etc.). All letters should
be in MS Word (.doc) format, if possible.
By submitting a letter, you hereby
agree to not engage in online discussion
through comments on the Collegiate
Times Web site.
Letters, commentaries and editorial
cartoons do not reflect the views of the
Collegiate Times.
Editorials are written by the Collegiate
Times editorial board, which is comprised
of the opinions editor, editor-in-chief and
the managing editors.
Letters to the editor are submissions
from Collegiate Times readers. We
reserve the right to edit for any reason.
Anonymous letters will not be printed.
Have a news tip?
Call or text 200-TIPS or
e-mail newstips@collegiatetimes.com

ents, it becomes easy to lose sight of the
activities in which we found meaning
and fulfillment. Our mission as graduates from this university is to impart
on the world not only the textbook
knowledge we acquire during our four
years, but also the life lessons we learn
along the way.
In the words of Aesop, “No act of
kindness, no matter how small, is ever
wasted.” One small act of kindness
performed by a Hokie can help to
re-teach the world that our lives are
only worth the legacy of service we
leave behind. In the end, what people
remember is not the letters behind
your last name or how many articles
you’ve published, but how you spent
your time improving the conditions
of others. Pursue your dreams, but
do not forget what Tech has taught
us. Let’s spread the true spirit of
Hokie Nation to all corners of the

Policies:
The Collegiate Times reserves
the right to reject or edit any
advertisement it deems
objectionable, at any time.
No refunds are available.

Place An Ad Today

CLASSIFIEDS
WWW.COLLEGIATETIMES.COM
540.961.9860

Visit our business office at 618 N. Main St.
9am–5pm
9am
5pm Monday–Friday
Monday Friday,, or place an ad
online at collegiatetimes.com.

The advertiser assumes full
responsibility for his or her
advertisements and agrees to
hold the Collegiate Times
harmless for the content of all
advertisements authorized for
publication and any claims
that made may be against
the Collegiate Times.

Deadline:
Three business days prior to publication by 3PM.

Rates:

Any questions concerning ads,
please call the Better Business
Bureau at 1.800.533.5501.

Rates as low as 32¢ per word, contingent on the
number of days to run. Prepaid. 15 word minimum.
Cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and
American Express.

We are pledged to the letter
and spirit of U.S. policy for the
achievement of equal housing
opportunity. To complain of
discrimination, call HUD toll
free at 1.800.669.9777.

FREE CLASSIFIEDS FOR VT STUDENTS!
students must come to 618 N Main ST to place the ad
Sub-Lease
Travel
Rides
Campus

EXPUNGEMENT OF
CRIMINAL CHARGE
Have you had an alcohol charge
dismissed because of compliance with
VASAP? Your record may still show
a criminal charge. Contact Attorney
Joel Jackson for free consultation.
Joel S. Jackson PC. 540-961-5297.
joeljacksonpc.com

Do it for Mom.
Mom wants you to be in the yearbook,
so don’t let her down. Senior
graduation portraits and underclass
portraits are Tuesdays, Wednesdays
and Thursdays Feb 2-18. Please visit
bugleonline.com/appointment to make
a senior appointment. Underclass
members may walk-in anytime 2 - 9
pm at Squires Cardinal Room (next to
Squires Info Desk.) Don’t wait to get
your portraits done - there’s no sitting
fee. The Bugle Yearbook - Live the
Tradition. Together

For Sale
Events
Health & Fitness
Automotive

Sub-Lease
VT STUDENTS-ROOM FOR RENT 1
bdrm available in a 3 bdrm condo off
S. Main St., Blacksburg. On bus route.
Good parking.2 full baths. Common area
complete w/ furnishings, kitchen fully
equipped, only bedroom furniture needed.
$400/ mo including cable, ethernet, electric
and water. 703-915-2315

Travel
GETTING COLD TIME to Plan your Spring
Break 2010 Get Away! Learn how to
travel to beautiful locations like Jamaica,
Acapulco and the Bahamas on a party
cruise. Find out what other Virginia Tech
Hokies are headed to your destination.
-Adrian
Email: Awhite@Studentcity.com
for more information

Notices
Wanted
Musical
Roommates

Greek Notes
For Rent
Personals
Furniture for Sale

Downtown Living
South Main Living
North Main Living
Prices Fork Living

Sink or ‘Swim’: ‘Adult Swim in a Box’
Are
you
as
tries to keep network’s legacy aﬂoat obsessed
F

or me, Adult Swim has come to
mean the hour or two I spend in
front of the TV almost every night.
This isn’t a newly brewed love affair
or something I picked up in college,
it is a relationship that has endured
since my high school days because the
network has managed to reinvent itself
show after show since its inception
in 2001.
This isn’t to say that everything the
network has shown has been gold;
sometimes the programming seems
more aimed at habitual practitioners
of glue-sniffing than it does 20-somethings looking for a break, and this
is something that has hampered its
material as it has sacrificed some great
efforts while favoring the incredibly
asinine. To this day I am still upset
that “Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil”
was never renewed for a second season while the uninteresting ventures
into sheer stupidity such as “Xavier:
Renegade Angel” and “The Tim and
Eric Awesome Show!” have been
allowed to flourish.
With this conundrum in mind, I was
interested in seeing what would float
to the top in the network’s new box set,
“Adult Swim in a Box.” It seems sort of
a daunting challenge for only six specially selected shows to act as the defining essence of a network that has had
a slew of memorable programming.
I can almost guarantee that if people
were given the choice of selecting their
six cream-of-the-crop shows on Adult
Swim, they would all have different
answers. And this is the same crisis
that the people at Adult Swim have
chosen to address with their newest
release.
Overall, the box set is a give and
take. It has its strengths such as “Sealab
2021,” which follows the lives of a team
of discordant underwater scientists as
they humorously fumble their way
through various aquatic endeavors. It’s
this type of deadpan, absurd humor
that set the tone of the network in
its early years. The other show that

you might also like...

Adult Swim
in a Box

“Frisky Dingo”
When the good guys are just as dumb
as the bad guys and both are crazy rich,
hilarity ensues
-$50 for seven discs

“Venture Brothers”
Any show that has regular appearances by Hunter
S. Thompson is gold. Also, it’s funny.

Harvey Birdman
Being a lawyer has never been so funny,
especially when your clientele is a bunch of
superheroes from Hanna-Barbera’s heyday.

follows this tradition is “Aqua Teen
Hunger Force,” whose second volume
is included in this package.
Many of my friends and I have been
rather divided amongst the merits
of this show and while I have never
really been a fan, it has its occasional
moment of glory.
Another throwback show that is
included is “Space Ghost Coast to
Coast,” which is essentially what happens when Generation X gets its hands
on a talk show. It is wacky, purposefully
half-assed and a little trippy. All in all:
it reeks of the ’90s. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is an incredibly
unique show and nothing of its sort
has yet to reappear on the air. Besides,
it features Beck debating over whether
or not he should eat a two week-old
taco, and who doesn’t want that? But
because of its guest lineup, which consists of many now household names
such as Tenacious D, David Cross and
John Stewart, and a rather squeaky
clean sense of humor absent of sexual
innuendos or overtly shocking com-

BOTTOM LINE:
The pros outweigh
the cons in this box
set, but inconsistent
choices keep the
collection from being
truly memorable.

mentary commonly found in most
programming today, the show feels like
a moment trapped in time.
Speaking of shock humor, the set
is rounded off with seasons from the
shows “Moral Oral,” “Robot Chicken”
and “Metalocalypse.” The show “Moral
Oral” is essentially one big anti-organized religion joke that spans 15 episodes. It’s funny for the first few goarounds, but after awhile the show
achieves just what it set out to mock:
a message whose senders regard as
the Truth with a capital “T” and who
refuse to relent from pounding it into
the minds of their audience. And after
12 years in private school, I’m good
on that.
The winner out of this batch is definitely “Metalocalypse.” The show is a
nod to metal culture that both praises
and mocks its listeners. It achieves an
interesting balance of having well-written jokes, an epic plot and entertaining characters that are accessible to all
while rewarding metal heads for their
intimate knowledge of all that is dark

and brutal. For example, a fast food restaurant in the show is named “Dimmu
Burger,” a reference that wouldn’t land
unless you’re at least semi-familiar with
the undertakings of Norwegian black
metal gods Dimmu Borgir.
The final disc in the set is a disc full
of pilots, and there’s a good reason for
this. Most of the pilots are painful to
watch such as “Perfect Hair,” which
tries to rip on Pokemon and ultimately
makes you want to rip out your hair
with anticipation of anything that even
looks remotely humorous. While most
of the pilots are what a shoddy piece of
writing looks like, there is one hopeful that I wish had made it. “Korgoth
of Barbaria” is essentially a 30-minute
dose of “Heavy Metal” with a “Conan
the Barbarian”-twist. It may seem
pretty base but man is it sweet: The
episode has its fill of action, lewd jokes
and wizards.
It’s hard to find the proper assessment of this box. For the most part it is
a hodgepodge of the good and the bad,
which is ultimately reflective of the
network. For every shining moment
of brilliance comes a talking wad
of meat making a crotch joke
or a drunken unicorn throwing up
rainbows. This is
just the nature of
the beast and really
the type of entertainment that our
generation demands. We are still trying to figure out if its OK for the future
leaders of tomorrow to be imbibing
demented cartoons. Should we find it
agreeable, at least we won’t have to wait
for the night to tune into our Saturday
morning dispositions.

TOPHER
FORHECZ
-features editor
-senior
-English major

Martin Scorsese stays rooted in past with new ventures
ROGER MOORE
mcclatchy newspapers
For Martin Scorsese, the older he
gets, the more at home he is in the
past.
Look at his new film — “Shutter
Island.” It’s set in 1954. A filmmaker
already known for his film biographies (“Raging Bull,” “The Aviator”),
he has a Sinatra biography he wants to
shoot. And “Silence,” his next project,
is about Jesuit priests in 18th century
Japan.
“I like the recreation of aspects of
lost worlds, lost times,” Scorsese says.
“We forget these other times and how
much knowing what happened then
can tell us about our present time. We
need to know the past to live the present, create the future.”
Named in poll after poll, in magazines from Total Film to Empire
and Entertainment Weekly as the
cinema’s “greatest living filmmaker,”
Scorsese won his Oscar for directing “The Departed,” the sort of film
he’s most associated with — a crime

picture with gangsters, crooked cops
and rackets. But Scorsese, 67, has
embraced history throughout his
career, from Civil War-era New York
(“Gangs of New York”), to Gilded Age
Manhattan (“The Age of Innocence”),
Jazz Age New York (“New York, New
York”), to Biblical Jerusalem (“The
Last Temptation of Christ”).
“Shutter Island” allowed Scorsese
to recreate the 1950s, with flashbacks set in World War II during
the Holocaust. And ever the film historian, he paid homage to Alfred
Hitchcock (“Vertigo”) and producer
Val Lewton’s Jacques Tourneurdirected horror films as he did so.
“‘Cat People’ and ‘I Walked with a
Zombie’ — terrible titles, but beautiful works of film poetry, both made
in the early 1940s. These two have a
mood and tone and atmosphere and
poetic dimension that make them
timeless.”
In “Shutter Island,” based on Dennis
Lehane’s novel, a federal marshal
(Leonardo DiCaprio) comes to an
island prison hospital off the coast of

Massachusetts where a prisoner has
escaped. His uncertainty over what is
going on in the place is amplified by
dark shadows in his own past — his
war memories, the recent death of
his wife and children. Scorsese saw an
opportunity to do a paranoid thriller
set in a paranoid age.
“I was very, very young — just 12
or 13 in the mid-50s — but I lived
through that era. I was very aware
of the paranoia. We expected to be
bombed any day. I was part of that
generation of schoolchildren who
were ordered to take cover under
their desks from an H-bomb attack.”
At 67, Scorsese is looking back in
more ways than one. He’s putting
the finishing touches on a documentary about the late Beatle George
Harrison, to go along with his earlier
blues and Bob Dylan documentaries
and concert films “The Last Waltz”
and “Shine a Light.” And he threw a little weight behind Showtime’s upcoming Roaring ‘20s series, “Boardwalk
Empire.” He directed the pilot and as
Steve Buscemi, one of many name

character actors to join the cast, put it,
“When you hear Scorsese’s involved,
you sign up. No questions asked.”
“We recreated Atlantic City in the
’20s. Fun!” Scorsese gushes. “I was
born in ’42, and by 1954-55, there
was this big resurgence of interest in
the ’20s — in the culture, on TV. They
were a time of epic changes in the
culture, a new openness in conflict
with this ‘intention to do well’ with
temperance unions and Prohibition,
good societal impulses that turned
out to be a very bad choice to make.”
So what might on the surface be
another gangsters-with-guns picture
from the master is actually him recreating another “lost world.” After that,
and finishing up the Harrison documentary, it may be feudal Japan for
“Silence.” Or maybe he’ll get to make
a variation of his long-planned Rat
Pack biography — “Sinatra.” And alas,
he just grudgingly had to back out of a
planned young Teddy Roosevelt film
biography, another piece of history
he wanted to jam onto his crowded
plate.

Express Yourself.
Write
Design
Paint
Draw

www.silhouette.collegemedia.com

with “Lost”
as we are?

Yeah, we
thought so.

Man in Black is the Smoke
Monster.
Claire is the new Rousseau.
That Japanese guy tried to
poison Sayid.
Ethan was Claire’s doctor.

What
does it all
mean?!
E-mail
gettinglost@collegiatetimes.com
with your crazy “Lost” theories
following tonight’s new episode,
and get some free swag. If you can
connect the dots, we might ask
you to participate in the ofﬁcial
Collegiate Times “Lost” Fan Podcast
or write us a weekly episode recap.
Submit your theories or recap by
Wednesday at 5 p.m.

february 16, 2010

page 8

Tricks, treats for festive Fat Tuesday

Mardi
Gras
is French for “Fat Tuesday,” a celebration marking
the last day of indulgence before the Lenten
season begins. To most college students, it’s an
excellent excuse to drink and become a slight
exhibitionist without feeling much remorse.
For junior aerospace engineering major Lauren
Jean Bradberry, this year is only the second time
she hasn’t been celebrating with friends and
family on Bourbon Street. According to the
Louisiana native, the true Mardi gras experience
is one that is very particular to New Orleans.

Bradberry, who covets the holiday even over
Christmas, recalls past Mardi Gras experiences.
“One of my favorite parts are the parades,” she
said. “The floats are so extravagant; they blow
your mind.”
Bourbon Street is transformed into a sea of
purple, green and gold, with party goers decked
out almost as much as the floats.
“Pretty much anything goes,” Bradberry said.
“People wearing crazy hats, feather boas or
people just painted walking around the streets.”
Regardless of the costume choice, every
person is seen with a huge green drink called a
“hand grenade,” a festive mixture of five different
types of alcohol.
“If you go on Bourbon Street, you have to get
a hand grenade,” Bradberry said.
Along with the traditional drinks, Mardi Gras
food choices are heavy with Cajun tradition.
Gumbos, jambalaya and fried fish are among
the most popular menu items along Bourbon
Street, especially during the festival.
“Everyone just wants to get in touch with their
Cajun side,” Bradberry said.
As a tradition, Bradberry and her family

ALL STORIES BY LIZ NORMENT | features reporter

make king cakes every year, a colorful dessert
that traditionally has a trinket inside. Although
Bradberry plans to celebrate with friends in
Blacksburg, her family has helped bring part of
the holiday to the New River Valley.
“My mom FedEx’d me a king cake,” Bradberry
said.
As a senior finance major, Sean Pennington
realized that this year would be the last he could
go down to New Orleans to experience Mardi
Gras first-hand.
“I can’t really jump out of a job to go, so why
not do it the last time I can while I’m in school?”
Pennington said.
Making the 12-hour drive with Ryan Flynn,
a senior hospitality and tourism management
major, the two plan to stay with a friend who
lives in New Orleans.
“The spontaneity of going down there is
awesome,” Pennington said. “I know it’s going
to be ridiculous.”
Only letting academics marginally interfere
with their festivities, the two seniors plan to
return Wednesday after the whirlwind trip.
“I have an exam Thursday morning, so we

have to get back,” Pennington said.
For Tech students who can’t make the trip
down to New Orleans, Blacksburg offers plenty
of options for Cajun-inspired festivities despite
the call for more snow on Tuesday night. Painted
bodies may be a rarity in snowy Blacksburg for
Fat Tuesday, but students who want to celebrate
in style can find beads, masks and other Mardi
Gras attire at Party Central on South Main.
For the evening, drink specials at Boudreaux’s
will include half-off hurricanes, and Awful
Arthur’s will be hosting DJ Dirty Wake and is
free for anyone 21 and up.
Down Main Street, Hokie House will giving
out beads, hats and masks at its door in addition
to having a DJ upstairs and additional specials
on hurricanes.
Although Main Street will be no comparison
to Bourbon Street on Tuesday, students can still
celebrate Mardi Gras by warming up with a
hurricane, competing for beads and relishing in
the spirit of the legendary festival.
“Mardi Gras is a celebration of just
life,” Bradberry said. “Everyone is just so
happy.”

HOW TO MAKE IT
Mix together with crushed ice in a glass
and garnish with mint leaves.

LIZ NORMENT/COLLEGIATE TIMES

LIZ NOREMENT/COLLEGIATE TIMES

Boudreaux’s manager Charles Howard whips up a hurricane.

Hand Grenades are one of the
staples of Mardi Gras beverages.

Cajun-style cooking: How to prepare yourself an original New Orleans dish for Fat Tuesday’s madness
ant to make some
Gumbo the New
Orleans way? Louisiana
native and junior aerospace engineering major
Lauren Jean Bradberry walked the
CT through the best way to add some
authentic Cajun flavor to your Mardi
Gras meal:
This is by no means the only gumbo
recipe. There is an almost infinite
number of ways to make gumbo,
but this is the way I make it. I call
this my “everything” gumbo. It’s a
bit unusual in that the chicken stock
is also infused with a seafood flavor
from the oysters (or the shrimp shells
and heads or both), and that it contains chicken, sausage and seafood. I
don’t normally put okra in my combo
because my family prefers it without
it. You can convert this to an okra
gumbo from a file gumbo by omitting
the file step at the end of the cooking
process.
MAKING THE CHICKEN
STOCK
8 quarts cold water
8 to 10 pounds chicken parts (backs,
necks, etc.) and bones, or a whole
chicken
Shrimp shells and heads, reserved
from the four pounds of peeled
shrimp from the final step of the

gumbo (the heads are very important)
8 ounces onions, chopped
4 ounces celery with tops,
chopped
2 heads garlic, cut in half horizontally
Seasonings For Stock:
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns,
cracked
A few parsley stems
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
Remove the skin from the chicken
(if you want a less oily gumbo) and
chop into 3 to 4 inch pieces, making sure to cut through and expose
the bones. Brown the chicken parts
and bones in a skillet with oil or
in a 350-degree oven for about 20
minutes.
Put the chicken in a stockpot with
the water and bring slowly to a simmer. Periodically skim off any scum
that forms, and if you wish, use a
skimmer to skim off the fat. Let this
simmer for at least three to four hours,
but the longer the better. It is this long
simmering process that extracts the
maximum flavor from the chicken
meat and bones, as well as the natu-

ral gelatin from the bones. Add the
onion, garlic, celery and seasons to
the stock. Simmer for one more hour,
and then add the shrimp shells and
heads. Simmer for an additional 30
minutes. Remember that during the
simmering process, it’s best not to
stir the stock. The end result will be
much clearer if it is not agitated while
simmering.
Strain the stock thoroughly; the best
way to do this is to ladle the stock
out and pour it through a strainer. If
you’re using the stock immediately,
skim off as much fat as you can with
a fat skimmer or a piece of paper
towel. Otherwise, cool the stock right
away by either putting the stock in an
ice bath in the sink or filling freezer
bags with ice, then placing the bags
of ice into the stock. To de-fat the
stock easily, refrigerate so that the
fat solidifies on the surface, then skim
off.
FOR THE ROUX
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup oil
Blend the flour and oil thoroughly
in a thick iron pot and cook over
medium-high to high heat, stirring
constantly. Be very careful not to
burn it. If you see black specks in the
roux, you’ve screwed it up. Dump

it out and start over. Keep cooking
and stirring until the roux gets darker
and darker, until it becomes almost
a dark milk chocolate color. Turn
the heat down or off as the roux
nears the right color, because the heat
from the pan will continue cooking
it.
To arrest the cooking process
and to soften the vegetables, you
can also add your onions, bell peppers and celery to the roux as it’s
near the end of cooking. Keep
stirring until the roux is relatively
cool.
FOR THE REST
1 chicken cut up (can use the chicken from the stock)
1 to 1-1/2 pounds andouille
sausage, sliced about 1/4-inch
thick (if you do not have andouille sausage you can use hot or mild
smoked)
4 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional if you do not have
access to shrimp)
6 gumbo crabs (optional if you
do not have access to crabs or
can substitute real lumped crab
meat)
3 pounds okra, sliced (optional, especially if you don’t like
okra)
Gumbo file

2 onions, chopped
1 bunch green onions with tops,
chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
5 ribs celery, chopped
Several cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
Creole seasoning (black, white and
cayenne peppers)
Salt to taste
A few dashes Tabasco — place on
the table for people to flavor their
servings
1-2 tablespoons file powder (only if
you don’t use okra)
1 large can (16 ounces) oysters with
juice
Steaming-hot Louisiana long-grain
rice
Sprinkle the chicken pieces with
Creole seasoning and brown in
the oven or skillet. Slice the sausage and brown, pouring off all
the fat.
If you haven’t already added
them to the roux, saute the onions,
green onions, bell pepper and celery. Add the sausage(s) and brown
for 10 minutes. Add the browned
chicken. Add the chilled stock, the
bay leaves and Creole seasoning (or
ground peppers) to taste and stir.
Bring to a boil and immediately

reduce to a simmer. Let simmer
for about 45 minutes. Keep tasting and adjusting seasonings as
needed.
If including okra, add and cook
another 30 minutes or so. Make
sure that the “ropiness” or “stringiness” from the okra is gone, add
the parsley, crab halves and claws
(if you’re using them). Cook for
another 15 minutes, then add the
shrimp and oysters (and if you’ve
omitted the hard-shell crabs, add the
lump crabmeat now if you are using
them).
Give it another 6 to 8 minutes, until
the shrimp are just done, turning
pink. Be very careful not to overcook
the shrimp; adding the shrimp and
oysters should be the very last step. If
there is any fat on the surface of the
gumbo, try to skim off as much of it as
possible.
When the gumbo is finished, turn
off the heat, sprinkling 1 to 2 teaspoons of file powder over the surface
of the gumbo. Cover and let stand for
15 minutes, then stir the file powder
into the gumbo.
Once this has been done, any
leftover gumbo may only be gently reheated. If this is brought
to a boil again, the file will turn
stringy and have an unpleasant
consistency.